Myasthenia gravis in a professional cyclist—A case report

Hiroteru Hayashi, Hiroki Funasaki, Kentaro Kawai, Sakiko Ito, Keishi Marumo

Department of Sports and Wellness Clinic, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojtr.2013.12002                

Abstract

Since myasthenia gravis affects the muscular system, athletes suffering from the disease often have difficulty in performing or returning to their sports activity, in which exertion of continuous muscular power is required. In this paper, we present a case of a professional bicycle rider with symptomatic MG who successfully return to his sport activity after thymectomy, steroid pulse therapy and aggressive rehabilitation. He resumed load training, returned to competitive cycling 8 months after leaving hospital while being on 20 mg PSL/day, and won seven victories in the top class cycling competitions. This is the first report on a professional athlete suffering from MG who successfully returned to competitive sports after aggressive steroid treatment.

Keywords

Myasthenia Gravis; Aggressive Rehabilitation; Return to Sports

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness (1994) Medical conditions affecting sports participation. Pediatrics, 94, 757-760.
[2]	Osserman, K.E., et al. (1971) Studies in myasthenia gravis—Review of a twenty-year experience in over 1200 patients. Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 38, 497-537.
[3]	Jaretzki 3rd, A., et al. (2000) Myashenia gravis: Recommendation for clinical research standards. Task Force of the Medical Scientific Advisory Board of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 70, 327-334. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(00)01595-2
[4]	Lindberg, C., et al. (1998) Treatment of myasthenia gravis with methylprednisolone pulse: A double blind study. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 97, 370-373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0404.1998.tb05968.x
[5]	Arsura, E., et al. (1985) High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone in myasthenia gravis. Archives of Neurology, 42, 1149-1153. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1985.04060110031011
[6]	Grober, M., et al. (1998) Self-care actions to manage fatigue among myasthenia gravis patients. Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, 30, 191-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01376517-199806000-00007
[7]	Oosterhuis, H.J. (1981) Observation of the natural history of myasthenia gravis and the effect of thymectomy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 377, 678-690. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1981.tb33766.x
[8]	Masaoka, A., et al. (1996) Extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis patients: A 20-year review. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 62, 853-859. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(96)00376-1
[9]	Sghirlanzoni, A., et al. (1984) Myasthenia gravis: Prolonged treatment with steroids. Neurology, 34, 170-174. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.34.2.170
[10]	Pascuzzi, R.M., et al. (1984) Long-term corticosteroid treatment of myasthenia gravis: Report of 116 patients. Annals of Neurology, 15, 291-298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.410150316
[11]	Kanda, F., et al. (2001) Steroid myopathy; pathogenesis and effects of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I administration. Hormone Research, 56, 24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000048130
[12]	Leddy, J.J., et al. (2000) Myasthenia gravis in a collegiate football player. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32, 1975-1979. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200012000-00001
[13]	Scheer, B.V., et al. (2012) Myasthenia gravis and endurance exercise. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 91, 725-727. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0b013e31824663c6